INA, Ill. (Oct. 27, 2023)—Career Days in a long-running event at Rend Lake College where the college opens its doors to local high school students to explore career paths available to them.
Student Success & Recruitment Specialist Heather Maschhoff and CTE Recruitment Specialist Megan Rounds present to local high school students about getting started at RLC.
The two-day event brought in over 500 juniors and seniors from MVTHS, Sesser-Valier, Waltonville, Webber, Woodlawn, and Zeigler-Royalton on the first day; and on the second day, students from Benton, Christopher, Hamilton County, NCOE, Pinckneyville, and Thompsonville.
Students enjoyed learning about the programs Rend Lake College offers. They had the opportunity to speak with faculty, see labs and classrooms, and learn about the financial aid options that are available to them.
The day started off with a presentation at the Event Center lead by Student Success & Recruitment Specialist Heather Maschhoff and CTE Recruitment Specialist Megan Rounds.
In the spirit of Halloween, Maschhoff and Rounds shared with students that picking a career isn’t as scary as one might think. They emphasized that it is important to choose a career that suits one’s natural talents and interests. They took well-known scary movie figures such as Freddy Kreuger, Jason, and Jack Skellington to show that there is a right career out there for everyone.
The RLC Director of Perkins and CTE Kristina Shelton spoke positively about Career Days and said, “It is important to offer these types of events to high schoolers so that they know what options are available to them.”
One student who benefited from the event was Christopher High School student Taylor Chinn, who said her favorite part of the day was deciding to attend Rend Lake College instead of Southeast Missouri State University.
Chinn is interested in pursuing her psychology degree and loved how friendly the faculty and staff were during her time on campus. Another benefit she expressed to attending RLC over SEMO was that it was closer to home and it would save her money. One of the faculty that Chinn met with was Dr. Jeannie Mitchell, who spoke positively about the student and her interest in the field.
With over 100 degrees and certificates available, RLC prepares their students for whatever path they decide to take after graduation, whether that be transferring to a four-year university or jumping into a career.
To start your journey at RLC you can contact Heather Maschhoff at maschhoffh@rlc.edu or call 618-437-5321, ext. 1269.
Or visit rlc.edu/recruitment to fill out an interest form.